Bell's Planet Series: Uranus - The Magician
The sixth release in our Planets Series, Uranus, is a Black Double IPA. It is also our first large release of this style of beer. The hop profile is enormous and complex with help from Citra, Galaxy, Polaris and other hard to find hops. The use of de-bittered or de-husked black malt lends color without the overly astringent or roasty flavors normally associated with stouts and porters. Don’t let the illusion of The Magician deceive you. Dank, tropical, stone fruit, citrus, floral and pine hop characteristics with a touch of light chocolate are all revealed.
3.9
155 reviews
Comstock, United States
Community reviews
Poured a medium brown with a beige head. Aroma was big tropical and citrusy hops, very light roast character. Flavor similar, alky held in check, very nicely balanced black ipa
From notes. Enjoyed at the brewpub on May 30. Pour is a medium black with ruby shining through the edges. There is a khaki colored head that keeps a film but leaves awesome lace. The aroma is nicely fruity with a hint of malt and an overload of dank hops. Light chocolate on the back end. The flavor is bitter and hoppy up front. There is a nice fruity character and a solid malt note on the back end. The mouth feel is a little light, but the carbonation is spot on, helping it stick around. The aftertaste is lingeringly bitter and malty. Really good imperial black IPA.
Bottle - thanks Clownisseur! Pours clear black, medium tan head, dissipates slowly, nice lacing. Aroma is roasy, cocoa, pine. Flavor is light plus sweet, quite bitter, pine and roastiness. Medium body, sharp bitterness lingers. This is not my idea of a properly styled black IPA.
Pours super dark red with a khaki head. Head retention is good. AROMA: malty, herbal/floral hops, caramel, herbs, citrus, spruce bitterness, raisin, earthy, dark stone fruit, pineapple, spice, soy sauce, lightly roasted, little coffee bitterness, peppercorn, brown sugar, boozy and coriander. TASTE: dark stone fruit, hop spice, malt bitterness, slight salt, pine bitterness, caramel, mellow chocolate bitterness, herbs, citrus, earthy, pineapple, alcohol, soy sauce, raisin, licorice, coriander, peppercorn and coffee oil bitterness. AFTER TASTE: hop spice, roasted malt, coriander and dark stone fruit with an oily medium body finish followed by a spice/alcohol warmth.
Bottle. Orange-chocolate malt and grapefruit peel/pine aroma. Dark brown with moderate head light tan head. Sweet orange, light chocolate malt, and moderately bitter dry lemon peel flavor. Body on the lighter side. Not bad but light malt.
Bell’s The Planets series with Holst accompaniment.
Mahogany body with a thin, beige, soapy collar. Aromas of light spice, brown bread, malt, yeast. Bready, lightly sweet, mild alcohol. Pretty good.
On tap at Bells on 8/7/15. Black pour with a thick tan head. Aroma of dark malts, grapefruit, tropical fruit and pine. Malty and piney flavor with tropical fruit and alcohol accents before a chocolatey and hoppy finish.
Black pour with a lovely herbal and floral/grapefruit nose with loads of black roasted malt. The flavor is intensely dark and toasty and roasty with a kiss of roast and molasses on top of the darkness, with loads of delightful west coast grape fruity/floral/piney hops. Amazing. Full and bitter and just the right amount of sweetness and char and floral resins.
Bottle. Mahogany beer with a dark tan head. Grapefruit and light darker malt aroma. Grapefruit and pine flavor with dark malts. Medium bodied. Grapefruit nd pine linger with light cocoa and dark malt.
Licorice, anise, and pine needle nose. Cola brown, medium tan head, good lacing. Licorice, cola, pine needle, intense but a tad too sweet. Strong charred oak finish. Medium to full body, resinous. Big and roasty, but off balance.
Bottle. Black pour with a medium, rocky and foamy brown head. Aroma is fruity with floral hops, tropical fruit notes and hop resins. Taste is chocolate, citrus, tropical fruit, floral hops and piney notes. Body is medium with a moderate carbonation and light lingering hop bitterness. Slightly oily as well. Ends with more chocolate, soft roasted malt, pine, citrus, tropical fruit notes, mint-like coolness and floral hops.
Dark brown, 1 finger head that faded to a thin line. Light aroma, chocolate aroma, faded like the rest of these. a little astringent, old fudge and a little raisin. not a very good one
12 oz. Bottle thanks to Willrunforbeer. Black color, flimsy head. Aroma is herbal and mild citrus with burnt molasses.
Flavor is pretty much spot on the aroma. The bitterness is pretty substantial with a medium body. Bitterness lingers a amount after the swallow. It’s respectable.
12oz bottle from trade with umich03jm. Thanks, Jason! Held on to these so I could do the whole series together. Pours coca cola brown with a beige head. Aroma is nice, dark chocolate, date, molasses. Flavor follows. A touch of char and pine bitterness on the finish.
Poured from bottle thanks Willrunforbeer for the Ratebeer Camp extravaganza. Pours dark black with a thin tan head. Aromas of grass citrus pine and fruit. Taste is nice full of citrus and hop.
A very nice hoppy black IPA, something I am usually not one to praise. Citrusy and piney, roasty, a bit of cocoa. Good stuff.
Pours jet black with a creamy tan head. Aromas of dark malts with a nice forward resin/hop undertone, with bursts of citrus, tangerine and tropical fruits. Taste is malt at upfront but fades to the citrus hops, which linger nicely. Almost no alcohol notes; surprising in a beer at 9.5%. Nice offering.
On tap a tMaduro pre 2015 GTMW event, pours pitch black with a thick off white head, almost tan like, the flavor has a very nice citrus and dank front end with a good mixture of malt and sweetness as well, the flavor has a super hoppy front end with a smooth and light finish, not overly roasty but still balanced, nice stuff.
bottle, from State of Beer, Raleigh. ggod aroma, roasty citrusy. dark malts and some grapefruit. dark orangy brown color, good head andf lace. bitter flavor. medium body, creeamy smooth mouthfeel, bitter sweet finish. really like the flavor and finish. well done
Bottle. 5/24/15 bottle date. Appearance: Black, opaque, and a thick creamy khaki foam cap with nice lacing.
Aroma: Slight roast undertone with a strong hop aroma that is fruit forward, like tropical and berry notes, with pine resin as well.
Taste: Starts with a rich, chocolate maltiness that has a slight hint of roast, quickly turning to a strong, but balanced resinous bitterness. Maltiness drowns out any fruity hop flavors. So smooth and drinkable for a beer of this strength and bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium body with a moderate to high carbonation, especially for the style.
Finish: Touch of roast of chocolate linger with some hop resin on the tongue.
Overall: Probably the most balanced and drinkable Black IPA I’ve ever had. has a rich maltiness that is not interrupted by sharp hop flavors. Considering it’s a double IPA, it’s all the more impressive.
Pour on tap at the brewery, dark brownish black pour with khaki colored head, aroma brought notes of lots of pine, orange, grapefruit notes into a nice cocoa powder, dark chocolate note with some slight roast but pretty mild, some slight dark fruits. Taste was a mix of orange, grapefruit, pine, some slight orange juice into bitter roast, coffee, and a nice sweet cocoa note, finishing fairly bitter, slightly sweet.
Tallahassee. Fl - ABC Fine Wine & Spirits - 12 oz bottle. Dark brown leading to black, khaki colored head. brief lacing. Aroma has a nice roasted essence to it with some light coffee notes, just a hint of spruce. Flavor is full and bold with some coffee notes, a touch of citrus bitterness, some licorice notes. an overall roastiness permeates the back end. Mouthfeel has a nice full crispness to it. Pretty solid.
The beer pours very black with a small khaki-colored head. The aroma blends citrus and resin hops, astringent booze, and low levels of roast, and the taste is quite bitter with strong resinous and grassy hops dominating the tongue. The citrus flavors do bring a slight sweetness to the taste, but it’s not enough to cut through the roast bitterness that arises in the middle of the flavor on top of the hops; the aftertaste fades to hop flavor without too much roast remaining. The palate fuses a thick texture, medium body, and a soft carbonation.
12 ounce bottle purchased at Holiday Wine Cellar ($2.99). Pours black with a little bit of brown around the edge and two full fingers of creamy dark tan foam. AROMA of dank hops, tropical fruit, wet pine forest, light chocolate, grapefruit, and some grassy/earthy hops. FLAVOR has lots of juicy tropical fruit, sweet citrus, and notable dark roastiness and sweet-ish caramel/toffee as it approaches the finish. Much more fruity and sweet than most Black IPA’s, and it works here. The high ABV is very well concealed, making this surprisingly quaffable. Somehow the sweeter fruity elements do not clash with the roasty elements here, and the result is certainly one of the best for this style that I have experienced. (113, 976)
Pours this dark black unclear with a creamy beige head. Aroma is big nice piney hops, roasted malts, and a tad of smokiness. Flavor brings balanced piney hops and roasted malts so smooth on the palate with a light creamy body.
Poured from a 12 oz bottle. Appearance is full inch of rocking mocha head, and very dark black. Aroma is grapefruit piney bitterness, a very sweet IIPA. Taste is sweet and rounded with some bitterness and roasts. Just a very well put together beer. Palate is well rounded not too bitter or roasty. I’d drink this every day if allowed.
Pours black with a medium tan head. Aroma is a blend of syrupy sweetness, pine and candied grapefruit rind with some carob-like malts peaking through. Taste is an almost perfect blend of chocolatey malts, heavy pine and sweetness right off the bat. Grapefruit flavors arrive in the mid leading to a substantially bitter finish. Really good and agreeable black IPA!
12oz brown bottle from Whole Foods, into a nucleated schooner glass. It poured an opaque black colour, reddish at the edges when held to the light, with tight beige foam, long-lasting with lots of lace. Surprisingly well-balanced for a 9.5% ABV black IPA. Undeniably hoppy, but not too bitter which I enjoyed. Citrusy, earthy, woodsy, hint of lemongrass and Fruit Loops cereal. Equally complex in the malt department: toasty, roasty, hints of black cherry, black plum, black currant, black raspberry. Light-medium body, moderate carbonation. No adverse alcoholic traits despite the high ABV, though I definitely felt its warmth a minute later as my face reddened. Though the brewers boasts about the debittered black malt, I actually tasted plenty of charred grain qualities akin to porter and stout, in a very good way. Delicious bittersweet and fruity aftertastes. This is much how I imagine historic India Porter must’ve tasted. Great stuff. Take it slow or it’ll kick your butt.
Bottle. Whoa - this is a good one! Extremely dark fairly dense pour with a dense khaki head. Citrus and roast, some molasses. Fairly dense palate. Awesome.
I won’t buck the trend while rating this. It gets high marks for a reason. It’s pretty damn good.